The Pentagon admitted it will lose to China on AI if it doesn't make some big changes

US Marines with Task Force Southwest (TFSW) observe their surroundings while at a security post for an advising mission with 1st Brigade, Afghan National Army (ANA) 215th Corps as they conduct Operation Maiwand 12 at Camp Shorserack, Afghanistan, March 13, 2018.US Marine Corps/Sgt. Conner Robbins

The Pentagon admitted Friday that it faces certain
disadvantages in the strategic competition with China to develop
AI-enabled technologies and capabilities.

China's AI programs benefit greatly from its militaries
integration with the private sector, something the US military
has been struggling to cultivate.

"If we do not find a way to strengthen the bonds between the
United States government and industry and academia, then I would
say we do have the real risk of not moving as fast as China when
it comes to" artificial intelligence, Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan,
director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, explained
to reporters Friday.

Major powers are rushing to strengthen their militaries through
artificial intelligence, but the US is hamstrung by certain
challenges that rivals like China may not face, giving them an
advantage in this strategic competition.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are enabling
cutting-edge technological capabilities that have any number of
possibilities, both in the civilian and military space. AI can
mean complex data analysis and accelerated decision-making - a
big advantage that could potentially be the decisive difference
in a high-end fight.

For China, one of its most significant advantages - outside of
its disregard for privacy concerns and civil liberties that allow
it to gather data and develop capabilities faster - is the fusion
of military aims with civilian commercial industry. In contrast,
leading US tech companies like Google are not working with the US
military on AI.

"If we do not find a way to strengthen the bonds between the
United States government and industry and academia, then I would
say we do have the real risk of not moving as fast as China when
it comes to" artificial intelligence, Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
said, responding to Insider's queries at a Pentagon press
briefing Friday.

Shanahan, the director of the Pentagon's Joint Artificial
Intelligence Center, said that China's civil-military integration
"does give them a leg up," adding that the the Department of
Defense will "have to work hard on strengthening the
relationships we have with commercial industry."

China's pursuit of artificial intelligence, while imperfect, is a
national strategy that enjoys military, government, academic, and
industry support. "The idea of that civil-military integration
does give strength in terms of their ability to take commercial
and make it military as fast as they can," Shanahan explained.

China's national flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium, August 8, 2008. The stadium is also known as the Bird's Nest.Jerry Lampe/Reuters

The Pentagon has been dealt several serious blows by commercial
industry partners. For instance, Google recently
decided it is no longer interested in working with the US
military on artificial intelligence projects. "I asked somebody
who spends time in China working on AI could there be a
Google/Project Maven scenario," Shanahan said Friday. "He laughed
and said, 'Not for very long.'"

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford
sharply criticized Google earlier this year, accusing the
company of aiding the Chinese military.

Shanahan acknowledged that the relationships between the military
and industry and academia that helped fuel the rise of Silicon
Valley have "splintered" due to various reasons, including a
number of incidents that have shaken public trust in the
government. "That is a limitation for us," he admitted.

"China's strategy of military-civil fusion does present a
competitive challenge that should be taken seriously," Elsa
Kania, a Center for New American Security expert on Chinese
military innovation,
wrote recently.

"Looking forward, US policy should concentrate on recognizing and
redoubling our own initiatives to promote public-private
partnership in critical technologies, while sustaining and
increasing investments in American research and innovation."

The US is not without its own advantages.

US soldier provides security during a short halt in Iraq.Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall/USAF

One important advantage for the US as it looks at not only what
AI is but the art of the possible for use in the military is US
warfighting experience, something China doesn't really have.

Shanahan told reporters at the Pentagon that China has "advantage
over the US in speed of adoption and data," but explained that
not all data is created equal. "Just the fact that they have data
does not tell me they have an inherent strength in fielding this
in their military organizations," he said.

China can pull tons of data from society, but that, Shanahan
explained, is a very "different kind of data than full-motion
video from Afghanistan and Iraq," which can be carefully analyzed
and used to develop AI capabilities for the battlefield.

The Department of Defense is looking closely at using AI for
things like predictive maintenance, event detection, network
mapping, and so on, but the next big project is maneuvering and
fire.

Shanahan said "2020 will be a breakout year for the department
when it comes to fielding AI-enabled technologies," but what
exactly that big breakout will look like remains to be seen.